Most SEO Professionals agree that social media properties such as blogs and bookmarks are priceless for search engine optimization link building efforts. In fact, it is very difficult to build high-traffic links without some elementary social media foundation somewhere along the line. However, this fascination for blogging and the trickle-down tools that come with blogging have cut into the once popular directory submissions. They used to be a large part of SEO’s inbound linking strategy.
In some SEO Campaigns, directories as an online tool have seemingly taken a backseat to blogs, wikis, and social media properties. The Google factor has also affected directory popularity since it can recognize paid links and has been known to harshly penalize low quality and duplicate directories.
The decreasing popularity of directory listings actually makes them a smart choice for link acquisition – as rival sites are unlikely to count the same sources in their own inbound link reports. If you know how to effectively target directory links, you can build a quality list of referrals that your keyword competitors probably won’t have. With the right SEO campaign, these directory listings can help you increase your website’s page rank and guided traffic.
Despite the consistent and long-term benefits, directory submissions should not form the bulk of your link acquisition strategy. Instead, they should be thought of as a secondary tool that can add value to an overall off-site search engine optimization campaign.
These following tips are what we use to help you achieve the best results from directory submission activities:
Relevancy is Key
The first and easiest way to ensure a directory link adds value to your overall optimization activities is to weed out the bad directory sites and identify only the most relevant sources. This is particularly important if the directories you are targeting use the paid listings model, because even a small number of irrelevant links can end up hurting you if they don’t deliver relevant and serious traffic.
If you have a very specific target market, it’s essential to identify those directories that are most relevant to that group. SEO Professionals spend a large amount of time researching this – usually this includes talking with existing clients to identify any directories they prefer, staying up on industry journals and relevant blogs, or even conducting competitor research to see which directories they use.
Choosing a Category
Once you decide on the directories you want to submit your site to, you must also consider which category your site falls under, and there are 1000s to choose from. If your website offers a variety of products and services, this seemingly simple decision will end up requiring a considerable amount of thought, as the category could make or break the success of the directory listing. If you categorize your website correctly, you will then be exposed to the targeted traffic searching that section of the directory site. If you categorize it incorrectly, obviously you lose that potential for exposure.
If you aren’t sure which category to submit your website under, try a few different ones and then keep track of which categories get submitted and which get denied.
Read The Fine Print
The majority of directories will request a reciprocal link back from your site. That’s understandable, as even directories need to link-build and place their URL in front of as many viewers as possible. However, an explicit demand for a reciprocal link should raise red flags to you. If proof of a link is requested before the site will process your submission, take your directory submission somewhere else.
Link Quality
If a directory cannot satisfy the search engine’s requirement for relevance and quality, then the links you gain from the directory will most likely be worthless. This is not only true for inbound link value, but also true in terms of the quality of the directory-referred traffic. Before submitting your site, it’s important to verify that the links are well organized and relevant to their category. Do a manual check of a few random categories within the directory and click on the links within. Ask yourself if the listings honestly relate to the area they are listed under and check out the quality of the sites themselves. If the sites are mostly poor quality, again, take your submission somewhere else.
When checking the quality of the links, be on the lookout for any spam-related content (like casino or medication links). Again, the presence of this kind of content is an indication that the directory is low quality and should not be used.
Tags: SEO Campaign, SEO Professionals